Click to enlarge old photos of Emily's first time with Santa, 2006. Tomorrow we'll see our big girl's reaction again. Tonight Santa makes rounds at the neighbors: Andrew and Jane have been good but are total Santa skeptics, and Michael and Ella are on the cusp, but Joey and his new brother are true believers. Joey is being potty-trained right now, so his grandpa asked Santa to mention something encouraging on that subject during the pre-gift praise period. -
Tomorrow night is the big event hosted at Hai Dang's in Prior Lake, where his extended Vietnamese family insists on gathering to celebrate Christmas because it is the only home that Santa consistently finds. This will be the 10th year at Hai's. (One year they foolishly gathered out of range in Eagan and Santa was a no-show.) Mrs. Claus joins Santa in the mandatory dance-athon. Special music has already been programmed by the teenage music director. So Santa rocks. . . and sweats in his beard.
